Advertise on podcast: Casting Shadows

This episode takes three relatively recent posts from the Casting Shadows blog and brings them into the audio format of the Casting Shadows podcast - raising three different observations on the members of our hobby for your consideration. Links to those posts and other material mentioned in the episode are below. Voice Comments are welcome at www.speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast Adam Neely Links: Neely Link 1 Neely Link 2 Casting Shadows Blog links: Silent Majority A Universe Parallel to the RPG Experience From a Certain Point of View... On RPGs Rivers of London series links:Rivers of London: Not all Magic and Laughter (or dice)Rivers of London: Riots, and Jazz, and Sten Guns, oh my!Rivers of London: ‘Tis the Season for NovellasRivers of London: Murder, Brutalism, and Cheeky NandosOther Channels: Same0ldJi "What We Do" series Third Floor Wars

This is a very brief description of the second half of #RPGaDAY2026 on my written blog, Casting Shadows, in a table of contents style. The responses walk a line between sharing character ideas, exploring how games handle and encourage character and characterization, and offering some ideas about what those characters might be about. The incredible briefness of all of this may be traumatic for established listeners. Be careful to adjust expectations downward by about an hour. If you are in need of further information density, please consider watching our Event Closing video for your safety and well-being. We hope you enjoy this episode. If you are inspired to leave a comment, you can do so at ⁠⁠⁠SpeakPipe⁠⁠⁠, on Spotify, or at the following email address: runescastshadows AT gmail. LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: Memorable Shares Post on the Casting Shadows blog On Volunteer Translations for RPGaDAY post on the blog⁠ Peter / Spezbaby on BlueSky RPGaDAY Feed on BlueSky OTHER LINKS: ⁠⁠#RPGaDAY2026 starts August 1st | Casting Shadows⁠⁠ ⁠⁠AUTOCRATIK: Announcing #RPGaDAY2026 in August⁠⁠ ⁠⁠LAUNCH VIDEO⁠⁠ ⁠⁠MIRKE the MEEK Podcast

This is a brief description of the #RPGaDAY2026 event as it is playing out so far this year, with some tips and locations to help fight the tide of algorithmic suppression and step out of community siloes. There is also a brief survey of what I have been sharing on my written blog, Casting Shadows, in a table of contents style. The briefness of all of this will stun established listeners into a shocked state. Be careful to adjust expectations downward by about an hour. We hope you enjoy this episode. If you are inspired to leave a comment, you can do so at ⁠⁠SpeakPipe⁠⁠, on Spotify, or at the following email address: runescastshadows AT gmail. LINKS MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: WILD RPG SITE OTHER LINKS: ⁠#RPGaDAY2026 starts August 1st | Casting Shadows⁠ ⁠AUTOCRATIK: Announcing #RPGaDAY2026 in August⁠ ⁠LAUNCH VIDEO⁠ ⁠MIRKE the MEEK Podcaster RPGaDAY Solution

We hope you enjoy this episode. If you are inspired to leave a comment, you can do so at ⁠SpeakPipe⁠, on Spotify, or at the following email address: runescastshadows AT gmail. LINKS: #RPGaDAY2026 starts August 1st | Casting Shadows AUTOCRATIK: Announcing #RPGaDAY2026 in August LAUNCH VIDEO MIRKE the MEEK Podcaster RPGaDAY Solution

We hope you enjoy our discussion. If you are inspired to leave a comment, you can do so at SpeakPipe, on Spotify, or at the following email address: runescastshadows AT gmail. My guest for this episode was kind enough to join me out of a shared appreciation for the ⁠GoBag podcast⁠. GoBag focuses on covert action RPGs and maintains a lively tone of enthusiasm and a thirst for adventure. At time of recording they are in their second season and focusing on the Delta Green RPG. Jason Connerley, former host of the Nerds RPG Variety Cast, was kind enough to join me in this episode to talk about a variety of RPGs and other media which broke ground in the territory which Delta Green explores so well. These innovative games had to face similar questions and problems, and each has a unique voice in the answers they present. Jason and I hope that returning to look at these old inspirations might be useful to spark ideas and expand understanding about this genre which is thrilling for players, but hard on characters~ Topical Links from our Discussion: GoBag Podcast Homepage Stalking the Night Fantastic / Bureau 13 Beyond the Supernatural Dark Conspiracy Over the Edge Unknown Armies

In this installment of the Friendly Conversations about RPGs series, I am joined by Erik Schmidt of the Setting First YouTube Channel, Blog, and Discord (Links Below). Our topic for this discussion is the interplay of setting, character, and player perspective to help foster characters which feel believable and lead players toward play that feels natural and grounded in that setting. If you enjoy where this conversation goes and how it gets there, I encourage you to take a look at Erik's channel and follow the link to the Setting First Discord. Some Relevant Links from  @SettingFirstRPG  :Language!https://youtu.be/8xsdVDpDs-k?si=ECXBasr_2vHsQB4PBelieve!https://youtu.be/8xsdVDpDs-k?si=ECXBasr_2vHsQB4PTrust!https://www.settingfirst.com/gamemastering/players/2025/06/13/trust-in-post-apocalypse-campaigns.htmlTopical Links from our Discussion:"Immersion?"https://wp.me/pTI80-3kehttps://youtu.be/z1EgIITKUg4?si=qRD-soMbaY3Tv7gdhttps://youtu.be/LdqytLSQd9o?si=dr-ME-rKfi82XTUVhttps://youtu.be/5FYLrmQ7aMM?si=7FkjvMQ-f-v1tEsvPlaying "In-Character"https://wp.me/pTI80-3uN CONTACT ME: www.speakpipe.com/CastingShadowsPodcast LINKS: https://castingshadowsblog.com https://castingshadowspodcast.com

This is a 1:1 conversation with Scott Welker, long-time gamer and successful game designer, and most importantly for this video: 30 years of experience in the Navy working his way up to the top of the Enlisted ranks. With titles based in Savage Worlds, D20, Year Zero, and soon a system of his own making. Scott is one half of @ThievesGuildGamingOfficial. Our conversation is an examination of concerns with representing rank and social differences in RPGs, things to consider when making them a part of play, perspectives to view rank from, and some suggestions for making it seem real enough to satisfy the needs of your group. Scott has written a game for Savage Worlds called Task Force Raven which puts the players in the roles of Tier 1 Operators and that plays its own role in our discussion. We do not discuss his Year Zero cyberpunk release, Neon Blood, but it too has fertile ground for including this sort of play. Neon Blood can be found here in an OSR version, and here for its YZE version. CONTACT ME: Send in a voice message via Speakpipe! Ubiquity Roleplaying Games Discord @Runeslinger for YouTube, TwiXter, BlueSky, and Facebook

Special Guests:   ⁨@OrcusDorkus⁩   ⁨ @RPGSean⁩   ⁨ @ThirdFloorWars⁩  Panel Topic: Running Horror, Comedy, or Comedic Horror - in the moment. In this audio-only version of our frightfully cheerful conversation nothing has been cut or lost, but the video version on YouTube has had some extra details, notes, and ideas added to it which you might appreciate. You can also see all the nodding in that version~ Games Mentioned: Call of Cthulhu, Kult: Divinity Lost, Mothership, Ghostbusters, Army of Darkness, The Laundry, Paranoia, Outbreak Undead, The End of the World, Delta Green, Liminal Horror, Rivers of London, and more Premise: What if four fellows with different views on horror in their lives and different approaches to humor found themselves in a chatroom to share their experiences with RPGs? Not telling war stories, not pontificating, but instead finding common ground and simple truths - like we do in a good group of gamers. Send email to runescastshadows AT gmail Find us on Bluesky: @runeslinger.bsky.social

This episode is another review of a post from the Casting Shadows blog, though this time the Wayback Machine is just taking us five short years (and a few decades of observation and experience) into the past. This time we look at a post based on the increasingly narrowing rhetoric around the technique of the Session 0 which tries to restore the balance required in that technique for long-term play. This time, the full post is presented before I get into any commentary from the present of the time of recording. Among the things in that commentary is a link to an earlier video on the same theme, but slightly different topic. It is linked below and is called Theories & Practices. It's almost a rant. One of two I may have recorded in all my time sharing RPG ideas. LINKS: A friend of the show, Patrick Mullen, on his Processing GURPS blog has recently referenced the Can I make my game better post in a post of his own about his process of setting up a new campaign. I think we need many such examples of the great variety of approaches and needs we gamers have and so I share the link here: Zero Hour Theories & Practices video mentioned in the episode. This video was recorded in 2014 in response to an uptick in extreme views in the regular cyclical confrontation between preferences between 'Just play!' and 'Elitist Theory instead of play!' ⁠ Can I make my game better?⁠ blog post on Casting Shadows CONTACT: Leave a voice message via ⁠⁠SpeakPipe⁠⁠ https://speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast.com Seek me out on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/runeslinger.bsky.social Visit the written blog https://castingshadowsblog.com Check out other episodes of this podcast https://castingshadowspodcast.com Still using e-mail? runescastshadows AT gmail

This episode includes a call from Jason Connerley in regard to the episode with the Arcane Alienist about RPGs and memory, and then sets the Wayback Machine for 2010 and a fresh look at an old post called By any other name~ LINKS: Weird Studies Podcast Homepage -Episode on Dungeons & Dragons, or the Reality of Illusions Nerds RPG Variety Cast Arcane Alienist Podcast By Any Other Name blog post on Casting Shadows CONTACT: Leave a voice message via ⁠SpeakPipe⁠ https://speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast.com Seek me out on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/runeslinger.bsky.social Visit the written blog https://castingshadowsblog.com Check out other episodes of this podcast https://castingshadowspodcast.com Still using e-mail? runescastshadows AT gmail

For this video version of this episode, I am joined by the host of the seemingly lapsed Hobbs and Friends, and the sadly sporadic Random Screed, by the Mr. Hobbs of Mr. Hobbs' Gamerhood: Jason Hobbs. He and I dive into some core elements of his recent foray into game writing with his release 'Bite the Bullet' which you can obtain PWYW on itch.io or DriveThruRPG. The game, a western-themed RPG based on Into the Odd, puts a tight focus on who the character is and what they will do to get what they want. We dig into that, and some of the approaches we might take to playing it in this discussion. Relevant Links: ⁠Random Screed⁠ ⁠Nerds RPG Variety Cast⁠ ⁠Roleplay Rescue⁠ ⁠Godless⁠ ⁠Cole & Hitch Series⁠ ⁠Spenser⁠ ⁠Spenser for Hire⁠ CONTACT: Leave a voice message via ⁠SpeakPipe⁠ https://speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast.com Seek me out on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/runeslinger.bsky.social Visit the written blog https://castingshadowsblog.com Check out other episodes of this podcast https://castingshadowspodcast.com Still using e-mail? runescastshadows AT gmail

For this episode, I am joined by the host of the seemingly lapsed Hobbs and Friends, and the sadly sporadic Random Screed, by the Mr. Hobbs of Mr. Hobbs' Gamerhood: Jason Hobbs. He and I dive into some core elements of his recent foray into game writing with his release 'Bite the Bullet' which you can obtain PWYW on itch.io or DriveThruRPG. The game, a western-themed RPG based on Into the Odd, puts a tight focus on who the character is and what they will do to get what they want. We dig into that, and some of the approaches we might take to playing it in this discussion. Relevant Links: Random Screed Nerds RPG Variety Cast Roleplay Rescue Godless Cole & Hitch Series Spenser Spenser for Hire CONTACT: Leave a voice message via SpeakPipe https://speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast.com Seek me out on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/runeslinger.bsky.social Visit the written blog https://castingshadowsblog.com Check out other episodes of this podcast https://castingshadowspodcast.com Still using e-mail? runescastshadows AT gmail

THIS IS THE FULL, UNABRIDGED CONVERSATION. Sean Kelley now host of the  @RPGSean  channel joins me for a natural discussion of seemingly tough topic: long-form and campaign play of cosmic horror RPGs. Drawing on experiences in our own play, using our own material, and such fantastic and lengthy campaigns as Impossible Landscapes and Masks of Nyarlathotep, we cruise through some core ideas, some foundational practices, and some notions of goal-setting, which might help alleviate some of that sense of impossibility~Relevant Links:Podcasts Mentioned in this Discussion:Gaming and BS Podcast - https://gamingandbs.com/GM Mastermind Podcast - https://gmmastermind.com/GoBag Podcast - https://www.gobagpod.com/Casting Shadows Podcast - https://castingshadowspodcast.comNerds RPG Variety Cast - https://open.spotify.com/show/4oPnUnwitpUqn9saEkFaNf?si=d135e19f4dc84e18Noteworthy Products mentioned herein:Call of Cthulhu - https://www.chaosium.com/call-of-cthulhu-rpg/Masks of NyarlathotepDelta Green - https://shop.arcdream.com/Impossible LandscapesThe Annotated King in YellowActual Play Playlists mentioned as examples:Impossible Landscapeshttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjzDW-FxA6k6oO9FbdREujogKfxkeVc68&si=4wGhQyoalNQDenBTTurn of a New Leafhttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZfuKgeD5fl7Rom3q-Mj0HMXGo-XL6XuE&si=gtBBCsPHUhp26sVINotes:An abridged but helpfully annotated version of this conversation with Sean is also available on my YouTube channel. The ink to that episode is here: https://youtu.be/o55hwQ1PKH8If you would like to leave a voice message about this episode or any of the others, you can do so at the link below:https://www.speakpipe.com/castingshadowspodcast.com

This is an OctOSR-adjacent episode. Thanks go out to BJ Boyd, the Arcane Alienist, for being a guest on this episode to help frame and execute a discussion on the nature of memory and some key ways that can affect our play and understanding of RPGs. You can find BJ's podcast at the link below: The Arcane Alienist For more RPG investigations, visit the Casting Shadows blog Watch Annotated Actual Plays, RPG discussions and debates, product overviews, and practical tips for playing and running RPGs on YouTube Leave a voice message for the podcast via Speakpipe LINKS relevant to this episode: Things Gamers Say... Things Gamers Imagine... On the Caller in Early RPGs An interesting and relevant link suggested by Jason Connerley of the Nerds RPG Variety Cast comes from SpectreVision Radio:Episode 6: Dungeons & Dragons, or the Reality of Illusions

This is an abridged version of a long overdue conversation with Scott Welker, long-time gamer and successful game designer with titles based in Savage Worlds, D20, Year Zero, and soon a system of his own making. Scott is one half of Thieves Guild Gaming. Our conversation is a full on, open-minded examination about focused attention in RPGs - otherwise known colloquially but ambiguously and unhelpfully as immersion. You can watch the full conversation, with its load of annotations and notes, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LdqytLSQd9o Scott likes to say "Immersion is impossible!" We get into what he means by that. I, as you know, Dear Listener, like to say that immersion, like so many other things, is frequently misunderstood. We get into that, too. For added value, one way we explore the topic is through Scott's games and how they were written. Useful links:Thieves Guild Games on DTRPG, has just launched a public beta of their new OPENSIX system and are looking for feedback. As a system, it is directly relevant to this discussion. The game is currently PWYW and can be found here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/524225/opensix-zero-edition-take-back-your-imagination First in a series of videos on Scott's first game, OS+R https://youtu.be/HaDi13UM21Y?si=dgRGHBnLRIDw6brd Scott and I discuss the film: Zero Charisma https://www.youtube.com/live/dVXKIX78DIQ?si=oeIvKiePEcTp_WMI My follow-up:https://youtu.be/X2TCg2cl9aI?si=PS_sEUrfL2wKmxYi Scott's recent video on Autotelic Engagement: https://youtu.be/qHVyFOYRPgo?si=Lcuf10VFaZfFaT2v Blog post summarizing my basic theory of "immersion" On Immersion and Engagement in RPG Play https://wp.me/pTI80-3ke A recent video from Bacon modelled on the above post and further exploring the points raised by Scott can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/live/iB_V-3V3KHc?si=7q83aGV8b93-Q_Mm You can contact me by e-mail at runescastshadows via gmail or by leaving a voice message through Speak Pipe. ⁠Send a voice message to CastingShadowsPodcast